This article is presented by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Visit the museum’s first fashion exhibition Carla Fernández: The Barefoot Designer: A Passion for Radical Design and Community, on view now until September 1.  

August certainly snuck up on us here in Boston, and sadly, it seems our summer days are numbered. But before you descend into an end-of-summer funk, there is one reason to celebrate autumn’s approach: fall fashion. Let’s be honest, as happy we might be to suntan in our short sleeves and sandals, summer style has nothing on fall fashion. If refreshed retail collections and New York runways are any indication, as soon as the weather cools, the style scene starts to heat up.

Fall is the best time of year to debut a fresh new look. This is your chance to take a risk and dare to don something new. But how do you begin to reinvent your wardrobe? Where can you find forward-thinking fashion inspiration?

To spice up your look, why not take a trip south of the border? Lucky for us here in Boston, that  means traveling no further than the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The museum’s first-ever fashion exhibition Carla Fernández: The Barefoot Designer: A Passion for Radical Design and Community brings the textile traditions of indigenous Mexico to life in a multidimensional, multisensory immersion experience. Since April, the Gardner Museum has been showcasing designer Carla Fernández’s creations, which celebrate Mexico’s rich craft heritage while still feeling strikingly fresh and contemporary. 

A globally renowned and award-winning name in fashion, Fernández is revitalizing the art of handmade crafts by using traditional techniques to create modern garments. Her label Taller Flora has disrupted the industry, taking an innovative approach to fashion design. Fernández travels across Mexico in her mobile design laboratory, collaborating with independent craftsmen and women as co-designers. Nearly a thousand indigenous artisans contribute to Taller Flora’s collection of couture creations, making it an extraordinary enterprise in the world of fashion.

These intricate, handcrafted garments are wearable works of art. This isn’t manufactured, artificial south of the border style, but authentic pieces of Mexico’s textile heritage.

The Barefoot Designer is a dynamic, multimedia immersion experience, complete with video, photographs, live dance performances, and even interactive workshops. This diversity of mediums brings Fernández’s fashion to life, and gives you a glimpse inside the creation of handcrafted treasures.

Ready to be inspired? Make your way to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to experience Carla Fernández: The Barefoot Designer: A Passion for Radical Design and Community and browse pieces from Fernández’s own ready-to-wear line at Gift at the Gardner, the museum’s store. (Insider tip: you don’t need a ticket for admission to shop at Gift, also a trusty source for jewelry and accessories.)

Click below for a sneak peek at the fashions on view at the Gardner!